Archive for April, 2011

American Craft August/September 2010. This cover really made an impression on me when it came out last summer, and I keep coming back to it. American Craft usually has very striking, artistic covers, but this one stands out. I love how it conveys a story about one man’s contribution to society.

Father Andrew O’Conner heads up Goods of Conscience, which takes textiles from Guatemala and sews them up in the Bronx. All of the weavers and sewers are paid a fair wage.

I noticed one of these in a recent West Elm catalog, and my first thought was positive: “Wow, how beautiful.” But my second thought was negative: “West Elm always shows such cool vintage stuff and I have no way of knowing what they are called or where to find them.”

Flash forward to last week when I entered “mid-century modern” into ebay and a couple of these puppies turned up! I was even more psyched to learn that they still make them, and you can buy them new (just google the name and you’ll see). This little string of events was particularly fortuitous because Brian had mentioned that he wants to get a coffee maker like my parents’. No, they don’t have a Chemex, (if they did, this whole post would be moot, wouldn’t it?) but one that operates in the same fashion, while being less fashion-able. Perhaps this new coffee maker will distract from the blandness that is our flat surface electric range?

February 1999. Hmm, I was probably strutting around campus with my letter jacket (dance team and drama club, yo).

I kind of regret throwing out my old issues of Jane, but I think I’d just watched an episode of Oprah about simplifying your life, blah, blah, etc. Good magazine, though. Also, total kudos to an early 90s episode of Clarissa Explains it All that devoted an entire episode to mocking Jane Pratt (Clarissa wins a visit from the editor of Cheeky magazine, who only talks about herself). Who knew back then that she’d go on to name a publication after herself! Seriously, though, good magazine; I’d buy issues at the campus bookstore as a little pick me up.